Salsa bikes have always been hard to get due to the importer(DirtWorks) being not good at what they do. (The importer has changed I believe and only time will tell if they will do a better job.) So folk who may have bought a Salsa in the past have given up trying to purchase one due to lack of availability. That being said I've only ever heard good things about the bikes.

If I were setting up a fargo as a tourer(and I planned to do this at one stage) I'd go the tripple. Looking at the official site, the Fargo which was XT tripple, is no longer in production so if a new bike you were after the options are Fargo 2- compact or Fargo 3- SLX tripple. I'd deffinately go the Fargo 3 myself. I put the same groupset on my T1 and it's awesome.

I have been looking at a Salsa Vaya. I tracked down the new Australian distributor for Salsa - "Dawson Sports" Salsa will be hitting our shores hopefully around December this year. At this stage they referred me to My Mountain in Melb who were happy to take my name and will contact me when they arrive. Actually the little correspondence I had with My Mountain bike shop was quite positive, the most proactive of any bike shop I have spoke with recently, but lets see if they call me back . Prices for frames will be about 10% more than the US online price (whatever that means) depending on exchange rates etc.

Can only hope the new distributor delivers and a few shops decide to stock them.

I've looked at the 2014 models and both the Fargo's 2& 3 have a SRAM double chain ring. I guess a custom build could be the way to go in that case. They've also introduced a carbon fork on the 2, looks nice. That said if I could get my hands on this years fargo 3 I'd probably be quite happy.

Looks wise the Fargo wins over the ogre for me but I need to ride it to make sure it suits.

We have only had them for a couple of months now, and the fire trails around Namadgi National Park is mostly all we have done. We have the Fargo 2 and find them extremely comfortable and capable, even in snow!With the stock group set I do spin out when commuting, but that isn't a big issue as who ever rushes to work? Can't ever imagine it being a problem on a loaded tour. We haven't fully loaded ours up yet, but will do soon.

Forum member DavidL has a generation one Fargo pictured down the page here:viewtopic.php?f=77&t=59339&hilit=fargo&start=25When asked about the differences between Gen1 and Gen2:- Replaceable alloy rear mech. hanger on Gen2, integrated steel one on the Gen1- Lower headset high and suspension fork corrected on the Gen2- Colours changed on Gen2, Gen1 only came in funboy green I think it is called.- Cage mounts changed on the forks on the Gen2 for the Anything Cage, doesn't fit on the Gen1

Thanks Rifraf, I had seen that topic and read most of it along with most other forum info I can find on the Fargo and Ogre.

TimRach, if you're spinning out on the commute then that suggests I shouldn't worry too much about the double chain ring, hopefully the gearing is sufficient for touring.

Just been down to the local dealer in Sydney and they won't guarantee getting any floor stock to actually look at which makes life even more difficult. The new stock is potentially a couple of months away.

I looked at an Ogre at the weekend and there's no denying it's a very suitable work horse. I was a little surprised at the cost of $2400. There are some good deals to be had in the US at the moment, a complete Fargo 2 for 2k delivered. I prefer to support local bike shops where possible but....

lcfc wrote:Thanks Rifraf, I had seen that topic and read most of it along with most other forum info I can find on the Fargo and Ogre.Just been down to the local dealer in Sydney and they won't guarantee getting any floor stock to actually look at which makes life even more difficult. The new stock is potentially a couple of months away.

I looked at an Ogre at the weekend and there's no denying it's a very suitable work horse. I was a little surprised at the cost of $2400. There are some good deals to be had in the US at the moment, a complete Fargo 2 for 2k delivered. I prefer to support local bike shops where possible but....

Hi Lcfc,be aware (if your not already) importing anything over $1,000 attracts gst and some other charges (brokerage?).This can bump up costs unexpectedly if your unaware.I got my Ogre by importing a frame.I recommend Jensonusa.com who claim to pricematch - well I've heard of them pricematching bikewagon.com.Goodluck with the decision making.

TimRach wrote:I've got a couple in Canberra if you wants to have a look. A large and a small in the current model. Both my wife and I love them

I know this thread is a bit old - but - I'm looking at the Salsa Fargo and wondering if it were possible to have a real life look before taking the plunge and ordering from the US? My partner and I are looking for a pair to do the Tasmanian Trail and other rides.

TimRach wrote:I've got a couple in Canberra if you wants to have a look. A large and a small in the current model. Both my wife and I love them

I know this thread is a bit old - but - I'm looking at the Salsa Fargo and wondering if it were possible to have a real life look before taking the plunge and ordering from the US? My partner and I are looking for a pair to do the Tasmanian Trail and other rides.

Might I suggest you either edit your profile to state your locale or at least say in your question so people with a Fargo might have the opportunity to have the inclination to offer you an eyeball. Or are we to assume your situated in Tassie because thats your stated "Trail" amongst "Other Rides"?

All our resident clairvoyants have departed the forum due to unforeseen circumstances........

tumblebee wrote:I'm looking at the Salsa Fargo and wondering if it were possible to have a real life look before taking the plunge and ordering from the US?

A good choice - I'm in the process of building my own Fargo and have spent many hours in research.Even if you are willing to suffer the exchange rate and high cost of shipping from the US, it's unlikely you'll be able to order unless you know somebody who can do a store pickup and ship for you.QPB - the owner of Salsa do not permit their dealers to sell online.One of the few places you can buy a complete Fargo online is from German store HiBike, however they only have S and XS sizes left in stock.If you want to build your own Fargo you can buy frame sets from HiBike and Bike24, but I don't know what sizes are available. You would probably be better off to buy locally.